Smart dressing to control wound healing

Announcement

In early December 2022, a wireless smart dressing was introduced that combines advanced electronics with a developed hydrogel, promises to speed up tissue repair by simultaneously monitoring the healing process and treating the wound.

Stanford University researchers claim the device promotes faster wound closure, increases blood flow to damaged tissues and improves skin repair, greatly reducing scarring.

The smart dressing consists of a wireless circuit that uses impedance/temperature sensors to monitor the wound healing process, explained in a press release. If healing slows or infection is detected, sensors send a signal to the central one processor to apply stronger electrical action to the wound to accelerate tissue closure and reduce infection. Scientists were able to track data sensors in real time on a smartphone, all without using wires.

Smart dressing to control wound healing

A layer of electronics 100 microns thick - a microcontroller unit, a radio antenna, memory, an electrical stimulator, biosensors and other components - is located on a hydrogel that is designed to provide electrical stimulation for healing damaged tissues and collecting biosensor data in real time. The polymer in the hydrogel sticks to the wound surface when necessary, but when heated several degrees above body temperature, it departs cleanly and gently, without causing harm to the wound.

Electrical stimulation, also known as galvanotaxis, accelerates the migration of keratinocytes to the wound site, limits bacterial infections and prevents the development of biofilms on wound surfaces, which promotes tissue growth and helps repair them, the news release said. Stanford researchers have been able to combine this proven technology with real-time biosensor data to create what they say is a new automated biosensor-assisted treatment.

The researchers warn that the device is proof of concept so far, though promising, and that many problems remain unresolved, particularly increasing the size of the device to human scale, reducing cost, and addressing long-term storage issues. In addition, new sensors may be added, for example to measure metabolites, biomarkers and pH. There are some potential barriers to clinical use, such as hydrogel rejection or bio-reflection of sensors that can cause irritation.^[1]

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